Brass, Walnut & Technology: Love Hultén’s Beautiful Furniture Combines Old-School and Hi-Tech

There are not many designers who could take the concept of a 19th-Century writing desk and turn it into a modern-day soldering station with a built-in computer. There are fewer designers still who could then actually build the thing. But take a look at this:

As you can see, Gothenburg-based Love Hultén is not your average designer. What you see above is his piece called Tempel, a combination storage unit, soldering station and computer workstation.

The integration of electronic equipment such as a built-in high-end computer and a 2.1 speaker system really enables it to function as a high-tech working environment. The inside also features a motor driven hidden pop-up 24? monitor covered in a walnut frame and a built-in soldering/electronic working station with customized tools, tailored after the owner’s needs. Every detail is processed and adapted to fit the concept in whole. The tech panels may look like something taken from a James Bond movie, but everything displayed has a function. The backlit reservoir hosts an effervescent liquid down the left panel, which exposes the the computer’s beautiful cooling system.

Take a look at how he’s rigged the monitor to pop up:

I think it’s safe to say your design and craftsmanship is well-respected when Sweden’s own School of Design & Crafts commissions you to create pieces just for them. Tasked with creating lecture podiums, Hultén whipped something up that stores a light for reading off of paper, a flatscreen monitor, and even the speaker itself (done pop-up style) to broadcast the speech:

The Hultén piece currently making the blog rounds is a real show-stopper: What appears to be a walnut briefcase actually unfurls to reveal his Battlecade, a two-person gaming machine that references the classic “Battleship:”

Wondering how he reconciled the joysticks and the folding action? Like this:

Hultén, by the way, is a one-man operation, designing and constructing everything himself in his Gothenburg workshop. Please check out more of his stuff here.